Re: [Freeciv] Red Hat Developer Partner Program

["Eric E. Coe" <ecoe@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Per Mathisen wrote:
> 
> On Thu, 8 Jul 1999, Courtney Frankhouser wrote:
> > At this time I would like to introduce to you the Developer Partners
> > Program.  This program provides Red Hat partners with various marketing
> > and developer support, and serves as a basis for additional  partnering
> > activities.
> 
> It is things like this that make me go "uhhhhhh" and wonder whether I just
> woke up in the wrong world, Matrix like.
> 
> Can somebody who is able to decipher the marketingdroid language explain
> to me what they are trying to offer?
> 
> Yours,
> Per

<delurk>
Sounds like this was aimed more at for-profit development organizations than the
not-for-profit, all volunteer efforts like FreeCiv...  For them, it could
actually be valuable: I saw things like assistance with advertising, and
marketing, etc... So we have been spammed by Red Hat, by virtue of being on 
their
"Application Index" - along with probably every other OSS development group that
they are aware of - should we get mad? Protest???

It's sounds like Courtney is a new marketdroid hire, and is totally clueless
about the OSS community, it's mores and members.  So she went and did something
that would be perfectly normal and welcomed in most other fields...  If Red Hat
makes too many mistakes like this, whey will lose what respect they still have.
Such are the dangers of growing too fast as a company, you can lose your
corporate "soul" when you hire too many people too quickly.

Taking a deeper look into the "RH Developer Partner Program", a couple of things
there disturb me: #3 - they are offering access (for a fee) to that same
application index to other companies - can you say "more spam"?, #4 "RH 
Developer
Support Network Online" - is this support? or just access to the LDP documents
and the open discussion forae?  Anyway, they are charging for it.

In general, it seems to be a lot of pricy offerings for development 
organizations
that currently specialize in Windows development who wish to port to Linux (and
Red Hat) - while charging hefty fees for stuff that is mostly available for free
on the 'net.  It gives me a mixed feeling: maybe they should be admired for 
their
sharp business practice - getting these gullible corporate types with money to
burn to pay for free stuff - and at a lower price that what Microsoft would
charge;
but it doesn't feel like what OSS is about.
</delurk>

-- 
#!/usr/bin/perl -i4lfirm{8+:2cqsynlz:5%@0:3Siwr:1Kwvx
print 'Eric E. Coe, JAPH (and Oracle Principle Engineer)
Work: (914) 773-8017          ecoe@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Home: (973) 663-0840          ecoe@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
BTW, the meaning of JAPH is:',"\n@{[map{($i,@a)=unpack
'ac*',$_;pack'c*',map{$_-$i++}@a}sort split/:/,$^I]}\n"
__END__
The opinions expressed are solely my own, and not my employer's.